2600 Redwood Street Phone: (907) 242-1482 Anchorage, AK 99508-3973 sel@ak.net Professional Accomplishments
Progressively increasing responsibility and scope of authority as senior manager, fund-raiser, non-profit executive and community leader.
Demonstrated skill, imagination, creativity and personal drive to motivate change under varied circumstances and resource constraints. Twenty-plus years’ experience as supervisor and team leader in varied settings. Brief career in electoral politics. Skilled communicator with long experience in Alaska and diverse contacts around the state. Candidate for U.S. Congress February 2016 to November 2016
Conducted full-scale campaign for Alaska’s single seat in the United States House of Representatives. Built statewide campaign organization, with full-time staff and fund-raising operation. Traveled to each region of the state for public events, broadcast appearances, debates and fund-raising receptions. Won Democratic primary election but did not prevail in general election against 43-year incumbent.
Alaska Public Media: CEO and General Manager July 2007 to October 2015
Eight years as CEO and General Manager of multi-faceted public broadcasting organization. Oversight of radio, television and web services for Anchorage and Southcentral Alaska, plus operation of statewide radio network of 26 independent public radio stations and statewide television service with three affiliated stations. Manage 40-person staff. Responsible for strategy, budgeting, fund-raising, programming, engineering, technical services and external relations.
Led a broad reform of finances, management structure, organizational culture, senior leadership, strategic direction and market positioning. These efforts brought Alaska Public Media from a cash position of approximately $2 million negative to approximately $3 million positive over a five-year period, while simultaneously increasing annual operations budget from $4.2 million to $6 million. Saw four-fold increase in number of leadership-level donors. Convened statewide discussion of public broadcasting structures, leading to new arrangement of statewide public television services. Oversaw development of strong array of locally produced programs for radio, television and web distribution. Rebuilt engineering/technical staff and recruited new leadership to improve reliability of broadcast signal. Gained state capital grants for two major rounds of plant and equipment upgrades. Expanded public engagement processes and events. Led marketing/rebranding process to develop a new name, logo and identity for the organization. Developed innovative experiments in digital/online media while maintaining strong legacy media, including the most listened-to radio station in the Anchorage market.
University of Alaska Anchorage: Vice Chancellor for Advancement August 2005 to June 2007
Two years as Vice Chancellor for Advancement at UAA campus, responsible for fund-raising, development, external and government relations, community engagement, special events, major university ceremonies such as commencement. Managed 24-person staff devoted to internal and external communications, donor cultivation, community stewardship, events management and annual campaign. Served on policy-making campus Cabinet.
Successfully completed campus’s first capital campaign, exceeding multi-year goal by 7% and single-year goal by 40%. Revamped staff structure and procedures to support strategic direction. Inherited a staff that was down from full complement by fully one-third and successfully recruited and integrated new personnel. Also recruited and managed external communications and development consultants to provide specific expertise and training as the advancement operation evolved to new levels of service and performance.
Anchorage Daily News: Associate Editor December 2000 to August 2005
Second of two five-year stints as opinion page leader and chair of paper’s six-person Editorial Board. (First stint was 1981-1985.) Responsible for left-column editorials seven days per week, development of overall editorial policy, research and outreach for editorial positions, op-ed columnists and other contributors, supervision of four-person editorial page staff, negotiation of positions, management of extended networks of interested community leaders and interest groups.
Fully immersed in all major public policy issues, debates, players and analysis. Led development of major editorial series on state fiscal policy choices. Developed a diverse cast of 15 regular columnists from across the ideological spectrum. Opinion pages, despite being located in the inside of the Metro section of the paper, ranked in reader surveys as the fourth most-read section, behind only page one, the Metro cover and weather – ahead of sports, business, features, national news, international news, comics and entertainment listings.
Alaska Humanities Forum: Executive Director July 1991 to November 2000
Nine-plus years as executive director of statewide 501(c)3 non-profit organization affiliated with National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Responsible for program, grant-making, strategic planning, budgeting, reporting, fund-raising and evaluation. Frequent travel throughout Alaska to represent the organization and develop grant proposals and other partnerships. Active role in national association, presenter at national conferences and regional meetings, active in committee and advocacy work. Frequent visits to Juneau and Washington DC to solicit support, inform Congressional delegation, prepare testimony, develop new funding.
Led a transformation of mission, programming and funding base. Spearheaded change from sole focus as a grant-making agency with a staff of two to a diversified, entrepreneurial non-profit organization with full- or part-time staff numbering up to 16. Over nine years, more than doubled annual budget by diversifying funding sources. Raised public profile of the organization and increased partnership cooperation with civic, business, academic and cultural organizations throughout Alaska. Launched and supervised fund-raising program, created statewide “Friends of the Humanities” membership group, competed successfully for foundation grants in highly competitive situations.
Built relationships with foundations, funders, committees and volunteers. Launched projects or programs at local, state and national levels – including all three simultaneously at one point – involving leadership development, youth exchange, social entrepreneurship, community engagement, public policy dialogue, storytelling and research. Grant-making activities provided insight and contributions to films, books, broadcast, community-building, research, dialogue, arts criticism, humanities education and much more. Convened people and networks to serve arts, culture and community needs.
Prior Experience:
Journalism and Communications Issues/communications advisor, Tony Knowles gubernatorial campaign, 1990 Chief writer/editor, Alaska Oil Spill Commission, 1989-90 Freelance reporter for Boston Globe, San Francisco Examiner, U.S. News & World Report, other publications Editorial page editor, Everett (Washington) Herald, 1988-89 Features copy editor, Boston Globe, 1986-87 News editor, editorial page editor, Anchorage Daily News, 1979-85 Sports editor, Anchorage Times, 1977-78 Education and Training
Pepperdine University • Enrolled in Executive Master’s in Organization Development (MSOD) 2014-Present • Intensive sessions in France, Costa Rica; focus on global roles
Stanford University • Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with distinction 1973-1977 • Concentrated coursework in history, economics, philosophy
Stanford-in-Britain • Five-month program of study at Stanford campus near London 1976 • Special emphasis on 20th Century British culture and politics
Knight Journalism Fellow • One-year mid-career journalism fellowship at Stanford University 1985-86 • Frequent briefings, debates, exchange with academic/public figures
Stanford Prof. Publishing Course • Intensive 2-week course in magazine publishing for professionals 1993 • Led team that won a special project competition
American Management Association • Short course in finance and accounting for non-financial managers 1996 • Emphasis on financial ratios, liquidity, break-even points
Shannon Leadership Institute • Year-long self-learning program for senior executives/civic leaders 2010 • Quarterly sessions in Minneapolis through Wilder Foundation
Miscellaneous Personal • Married, no children • Recipient, along with my wife Patty Ginsburg, of 2015 Shining Lights Award • Personal interests include reading, travel, bicycling, golf, boating
Civic Affiliations Current: • Alaska World Affairs Council Board of Directors • Downtown Anchorage Rotary Past: • Anchorage Museum Association • 90% by 2020: Anchorage United for Youth Leadership Team • Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Anchorage Board (Past President) • United Way of Anchorage Board; led development of strategic plan focusing on networks of care, strategic use of information, development of community assets • Anchorage Cultural Council
Presentations • Featured speaker or panelist at meetings, conferences or events • Thousands of published newspaper editorials and articles • Frequent interviewer or guest on radio or television broadcasts • Emcee or moderator at numerous public events, civic occasions Valued Experiences • Gave full support during my wife’s battle to survive stage 3b lung cancer, 2004-05 • Rode a bicycle 3,360 miles from Seattle to Washington DC over seven weeks in 2012, raising funds to support the work of the American Lung Association • 3 different times made remarks welcoming new U.S. citizens at naturalization ceremonies • Taught approximately 2,000 students to cross-country ski over 21 years, 1977-98 • Flew in the back seat of Air Force F-16 fighter jet in 2001 • Owned and operated a sailboat in Prince William Sound, 1982-85 • Drove seven hours and slept in my car in sub-zero weather to interview Muhammad Ali • Summer/part-time jobs: Marine surveyor, cannery maintenance, construction maintenance, tour bus driver and guide, furniture mover, sandblaster, swimming pool aide
